A New Heading
by agnikai58
Summary: While investigating several murders, Lena is invited to join Talon and the chance to take them down from within is too tempting to ignore. She's never agreed with their ethics or lack thereof but Amelie Lacroix is intent on changing that as she educates Lena on who the true enemy is. -Widowtracer. Elements of BDSM, non-explicit violence. Antagonism.
1. Chapter 1

Venice Italy, the City of Canals. A town that had first been settled in years long since lost to time had grown over the centuries until it had become what it was today. A thriving metropolis built on top of over a hundred islands sitting beneath the water's surface. Connecting the islands together was a lattice more convoluted than any spider's web made from hundreds of bridges and half as many canals snaking all throughout the city.

A slender figure with long legs and spiky brown hair was crossing one of those bridges with a determined stride. Goggles with a yellowish tint covered her eyes while she warded off the night's damp chill with her customary bomber jacket. Lena Oxton snuck a glance over her shoulder as she stepped off the bridge and onto the island where her destination was located. "Almost on site now, Winston. Doesn't look like anyone's around and I haven't seen a tail. Think I'm in the clear."

Winston's rumbling voice came through her earpiece loud and clear as he responded. "If you say so, but don't let your guard down. We tracked Widowmaker and Reaper to Venice but we don't know if they're still in the city or not. Keep your eyes open and if they engage don't be afraid to run and call for help, especially now that Akande's escaped. We don't want a repeat of what he did to you in Numbani."

Lena winced at the memory of that particular fight and unconsciously placed one hand against the device on her chest. She had been dancing around him at will then somehow he had grabbed her and crushed her chronal accelerator with his metal gauntlet. It wasn't the first time she had been unfixed in time, a phenomenon Winston called disassociation, but each occurrence was as unpleasant as the ones before it. Drifting back and forth uncontrollably. One moment she was in the present, seeing the world flash about her for an instant and then the next she was... elsewhere. In a time and place where she recognized nothing or anyone and yet it was all too familiar before that too flashed away as the currents of time swept her away yet again.

She came to a halt in front of the building she had come to Venice for. "Roger that, big guy. If I see Akande I'm running. Though I kinda want to do that anyway. I can't believe I'm doing this."

"We need confirmation that Talon was responsible for this. These people have been under suspicion for quite some time but we've never been able to prove anything."

Lena sighed as she pulled out a pouch containing numerous thin metal picks in it as she crouched in front of the door. A minute was all she needed to persuade the lock to yield to her tools and the door swung open at her touch, granting her entry to the morgue.

Inside the unlit building was what she had come for, rows of metal doors containing bodies of the deceased that had not yet been identified and/or were waiting to be autopsied. Lena pulled the first open and slid the tray in it out with one hand while the other held her flashlight. She hesitated at first, really not wanting to open the body bag before taking a hold of the zipper and sliding it down. Lena covered her mouth and looked away for a moment as she suppressed the urge to vomit but even a brief glimpse was enough for her to identify the person, as battered and broken as his body was. "Guess it's my lucky night, Winston. First door and I just found Vialli."

"Vialli. We've suspected him of helping to finance Talon for a long time but we've never been able to track his money transfers. How was he killed? Any bullet holes?" asked Winston.

"No... it doesn't look like he was shot but I'm not a doctor. He's pretty messed up so maybe he fell off a building or something. I'm not looking at him again." Lena lifted one hand to try and block her vision so that she couldn't see his shattered torso again as she zipped his bag shut and shoved his tray back inside. "Let me check the others then get back to you." The next corpse had the telltale signs of pellets to the chest. So did the one after that and the body following that one had the same wounds. All gunned down by a shotgun... or a pair of shotguns. The streak of people murdered by shotguns came to a halt when she unzipped the next bag. This person only had a single bullet hole but the angle and location of the hole was enough for her to guess at who had killed this particular person. Lena zipped it back up as she started talking on the radio once more. "Shotgun blasts and someone killed by a sniper rifle. Reaper and Widowmaker. Has to be."

"Well, that confirms Talon was behind this. The only question is why? Vialli was an important member of their organization so why would they turn on him? Ogundimu breaking out of prison has to be connected to this somehow but I don't-" Winston's voice abruptly cut off mid-sentence.

"Winston?" Lena tapped her earbud as she turned around. "You there big guy?"

Then the likely reason for him being cut off appeared. A stream of smoke and shadow cut through the glow of her flashlight as it flew above the ground towards her. It swirled into a circle and the form of someone who had once been one of her commanding officers rose from it. "Hello, Oxton." Gabriel Reyes' voice was harsh on the ears, nearly to the point of being painful but even so it suited the... _thing_ he had become.

"Reaper." Lena spat the codename he had been given by the media like an epithet and she flexed her wrists, springing the guns attached to them free and into her hands.

A cold laugh came from behind the bone white mask that covered his face but his hands didn't make a move from the handles of the shotguns she could see hanging off his belt. "There's no need to make this any harder than it needs to be, Oxton."

To Reaper's left the air shimmered and a second figure appeared between Lena and the doorway. A pair of metal strips decorated the shaved portion of her head while black and purple hair fell down to her shoulder on the other side. But more importantly was the fact that she was pointing a submachine gun at Lena's chest. The woman waved her metal nails at Oxton. "Hola."

"Even if you get past us and out of the building Widowmaker is waiting outside. There's no escape for you, not this time." explained Reaper.

"I'll take my chances, thank you very much." Lena's body tensed and she sank into a crouch as she triggered her accelerator, intending to blink past them and out the door.

Nothing happened.

Lena blinked her eyes at the fact that she hadn't moved a centimeter. She triggered the accelerator again. Nothing. "W-what's going on? Why isn't this working?"

Reaper let out a dry chuckle and he gestured towards the woman holding the submachine gun. "Let me introduce you to my associate here, Sombra. She's quite the hacker and that device on your chest is run by a computer."

Lena looked down at the device in question. She had become so accustomed to its presence that she honestly didn't notice it unless she actively looked at the thing. It was still glowing blue as usual but purple lines were streaked all across it. "What have you done!?" she demanded of Sombra.

"I hacked it so you can't teleport away, amiga." Sombra replied as she nonchalantly studied those metal fingernails of hers.

Lena sighed inwardly as the full extent of the bind she had found herself in was made apparent. There was no way out of this room and even if she somehow _did_ escape then she would be trying to escape the scope of the world's most feared sniper. She flipped the safeties on her pistols off and spread her arms so she was aiming at both of them. "Fine. Let's get this over with. Good thing we're already in the morgue ain't it?"

"We're not here to kill you, Oxton."

"What?"

"I said we're not here to kill you. You have ears, use them."

"Then what _do_ you want, Reaper?"

"Our boss wants to talk. You put the guns down and we'll take you to him." explained Reaper, his fingers tapping impatiently on his biceps.

Their _boss_? Reaper had a boss? Reyes had been the head of Overwatch's covert ops division Blackwatch back in the days before the incident in Switzerland. It had been Winston's, and hers, running assumption that Reaper had become the leader of the organization when they had merged with Blackwatch. But now she was learning there was someone higher up the hierarchy? If she played along then who knew what else she could but learn but Lena knew she couldn't just back down right away without making Reaper even more suspicious of than he doubtless already was. "How do I know this isn't some kind of trap?"

"Don't be a fool. If we wanted to kill you then you'd already be dead. If we wanted to torture you then you'd be screaming in pain right now. All we want is for you to hear what our boss has to say." Reaper turned his back to her and walked away. He stopped at the doorway and turned his head back towards her. "It'll go easier for you if you just come with us, Oxton."

Lena looked at Reaper, then at Sombra and the gun she was still pointing at Lena. Finally she looked down at her compromised chronal accelerator. She slid her guns back into the holsters on her wrists. "Fine. Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

A boat was tied to a dock cleat in the nearest canal to the morgue. The thing wasn't the classic gondola that people always pictured when they thought of Venice, much to Lena's disappointment. Instead it was what the locals would called a _topetta_ , a plain flat boat with a motor attached to the rear. As she got in, Lena couldn't help but feel grateful it was night out because the three of them made for a most highly unusual group. An American wearing body armor as black as his leather cloak to go along with a skull mask and shotguns, a Latino hacker with half a head of hair and her, a Brit wearing tinted goggles and a glowing blue device on her chest. Then someone else appeared out of a nearby alleyway, a tall slender French woman with skin the color of lavender and a violet ponytail whose ends dangled all the way by her hips.

 _What a motley crew we make._ Lena thought to herself as the woman best known as Widowmaker sat down across from Oxton in the boat, sniper rifle resting on her lap. _'At least no one will be able to see us and call the cops._ "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Quiet." Reaper growled at her, or maybe that was his normal voice, it was impossible to tell the difference anymore. "Sound carries over water." Sombra undid the rope holding the boat in place and Reaper hit the motor's ignition button, its propellers beginning to spin.

As the boat moved away from the dock the lone man present sat down next to the motor. He kept one hand on its steering handle and the other hung down down by his waist, seemingly at rest but the fact that it was close to the handle of one shotgun had to be more than mere chance. Lena's eyes flicked away from Reapers to sneak a peek at Sombra. The hacker was seemingly engrossed in studying her fingernails but her other hand was squeezing the grip of her gun. Oxton's third companion on this little sojourn was sitting with her back held straight, her eyes gazing intently at Lena and her hands resting on top of the sniper rifle.

 _They're worried I might try to run for it now that we're out in the open. Makes sense, if I was going to try and get away then diving into the canal would be my best chance. Bullets don't travel very far through water after all._ The idea _was_ tempting but that would mean giving up a chance for more information and even then she wasn't sure that she could get away. Outrunning Reaper might be possible even with that smoke form thing of his, but the real problem was Widowmaker. It would be all too easy for Widowmaker to pick Lena off when the chill of the cold water inevitably forced her out of the canals. Then there was Sombra, she had demonstrated some form of invisibility but who knew what else she was capable of...

"There's something at your feet. Put it on and lie down. Your accelerator is going to attract attention." Reaper pointed at the bottom of the boat where a black bundle of fabric was waiting as he spoke. Lena reached down and picked it up with one hand. A woolen hood with no holes for eyes. She raised an eyebrow but Reaper merely jabbed his finger at the hood. "Put it on." It wasn't a request. "Down on the floor, your accelerator will draw attention."

She suppressed a sigh and pulled it on before curling up on the floor, only a few centimeters of wooden hull between her and the waters of the canal. Whatever information she was going to get had better be worth this. Reaper tossed the boat's cover on top of her.

Eventually the boat came to a halt, the bumping of the boat against a dock letting Lena know that they had arrived somewhere. A pair of hands lacking the claws of Reaper's gloves hauled her up off the boat's floor. Lena stumbled as she got out of the boat, unable to see where she was putting her feet, but the hand on her bicep kept Lena from falling. Once she had regained her balance Lena felt herself being pushed forward and occasionally turned as they walked through wherever they were. After a minute or so Lena was jerked to a halt and the hand let go before her hood came off.

Lena had been led into a dimly lit room made from stone blocks. A large oval table with over a dozen chairs around it sat in the room's center. On one end of the table was a tall broad shouldered dark skinned man in a white suit, a man she had helped to put in prison. In front of him were a pair of crystal glasses, a bottle of wine and a small platter of cheeses. Lena's hands balled up into fists when she saw him sitting there and the memory of what he had done to her flashed in front of her eyes. "Doomfist."

"Thank you, Sombra." The hacker merely shrugged at him and moved to stand outside on the other side of the room's wooden doors.

"Doomfist, is it? I can call you Tracer if you wish, certainly the media has enjoyed labeling us by those aliases, but there is no need for such theatrics here. Akande will suffice or Mister Ogundimu if you wish to be more formal. Do you care for something to drink? It's not a gin and tonic or whiskey but this Merlot was bottled before the second world war."

Outwardly she tried to keep her face passive but Lena was reeling on the inside. This was the same man she had fought with in Numbani? He had seemed nothing more than a brute then, bent on causing havoc and mindless destruction. Yet here he was, speaking with a cultured voice, dressed in finery and offering her wine that had been collecting dust since long before their grandparents were born. Lena gave the bottle a quick downwards glance. So far it hadn't seemed like they had wanted to harm her but it would be trivial for them to use poison here, whether in the drink or on the glass itself.

Akande uncorked the bottle and poured some into each glass. He took a sip from both of them before setting them back down. "You have nothing to fear from me today, Miss Oxton. I will admit that you looking into that morgue is problematic but it is nothing that I am not willing to ignore."

Lena straightened her back a little and picked up her cup, taking a small sip before setting it back down. "Well thank you very much... Akande. Why did you bring me here?"

"Getting to the point so soon? As you wish. I had you brought here because I have an offer for you. As you know I recently escaped from prison and have only just rejoined the world. Things have changed since I went inside. Overwatch was disbanded, a new Omnic Crisis in Russia, Tekhartha Mondatta."

She grimaced the moment he said the leader of the Shambali's name. He had been giving a speech in Kings Row and she had been there. So had one of Talon's agents. Lena's hand in her lap tightened into a fist at the memory of that night.

"Please excuse me. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories." said Akande. He actually looked contrite though Lena had the sneaking hunch it was just a facade. "As I was saying, I have an offer for you Miss Oxton. The world has changed and so has Talon. Our previous leaders had forgotten the purpose of the organization but I have ensured that error has been remedied. We are re-committed to our true purpose but there is a lack of capable operatives within Talon at the moment. I would like to invite you to join us."

The entire time she had been lying on the floor of that boat Lena had been running scenarios through her head. What did they want with her? Give a warning? Lock her up? Trick her into giving them the location of Overwatch agents? Have her deliver a message to Winston? The idea that they would invite her to join Talon had never once crossed her mind.

Lena bolted up to her feet and slapped both hands on the table. "Join Talon!? Are you out of your bloody mind!? Why would I ever join a group that murders and tortures people!?" She shouted at him.

Akande swirled his glass of wine in his hand before sniffing the aroma and set it back down. Slowly he stood up and moved to look at a massive painting that almost covered the entirety of one wall. "When I was a young man I devoted myself to the martial arts. Wrestling, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, among others. I studied anything that was available to me, but the most important lesson I learned was the value of competition. A martial art that did not value competition and resistance was an art that soon lost its effectiveness. If you were not testing yourself against people who fought back then your skills were false."

"But then the Omnic Crisis began and I lost my right arm and with it my ability to test my fighting skills. I threw myself into my family's business but I soon grew weary with learning how to run the company. Then one day I came across something that changed my life." Akande turned to face her, his hands clasped behind his back. "Tell me, Miss Oxton, what is a monopoly?"

"A monopoly? It's when a single company corners the market on a product or resource..." Lena scratched at her head, trying to see what he was going with this.

"And what happens when a monopoly is formed?"

"Uhh the prices go up, the quality goes down and all that." _Is he_ really _asking me about monopolies now?_

"Correct. A monopoly is a company without competition to keep it honest. It was the same lesson I had learned from the martial arts. When I read that page I realized that competition is not just limited to economics or the martial arts. Competition is the force that drives this world to better itself in every way. When a leopard hunts antelope it is a competition, is the leopard cunning enough to catch its prey or is the antelope swift enough to escape? The winner survives, the loser perishes."

"What are you talking about?" demanded a bewildered Lena. "What do monopolies, leopards, and antelope have to do with anything?"

"You asked why you would ever join Talon, Miss Oxton. I am explaining the purpose of our organization. We seek to improve humanity by ensuring that there will be always be competition."

"You mean war. Your goal is to start wars." Lena's voice was flat and she was fuming inwardly when the full meaning of his words dawned on her. "You'll be getting a lot of people killed if you start senseless wars. Do you honestly expect me to join a group responsible for that?"

"You are correct, Miss Oxton. People have died as a result of our actions and more will continue to do so. Those who die are the least among us and those who survive are all the stronger for it. As for war, wars are hardly senseless. The first World War gave us industrial fertilizer, the Second was when America first harnessed the power of the atom. Even the threat of war is sometimes enough. Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel beyond this planet. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk upon the moon. The Internet came about for fear of a nuclear war. Conflict drives humanity, Miss Oxton."

"Even if all of that is true, and I'm not saying I agree with you, that doesn't answer the question of why you think I would join you. I'm not a murderer like you." Lena pointed out.

Akande moved away from the painting towards her and held out one hand. "May I see one of your pistols?" Lena hesitated for a moment before detaching one of her trusty sidearms and handing it to him. It was something of a risk but she still had the other one, just in case.

In his meaty palm the gun looked more like a child's plaything than it did an actual firearm. Akande pointed it away from the two of them and the painting as he stared down the sights before setting it down on the table. "An elegant weapon, though not for me I fear. Guns have power but I have always trusted my hands in combat more than any tool. Tell me, Miss Oxton, when would you point this gun at someone?"

Lena hesitated for a moment at the unexpected question but he had done this just a few minutes earlier in order to explain himself. "I guess when I'm afraid for my safety."

"And when would you fire it?"

"When I felt it was the only course of action left to me..."

"It's a curious thing. The laws of every modern nation have separate punishments for failing to kill someone and successfully doing it. I understand the logic of treating a criminal who fails at his objective differently than one who succeeds for every other crime except this one." Akande looked down at the pistol lying between them. "A person who aims a gun at another person and hits their target is no different than the person who misses. Both of them have the same objective, murder. When they pull that trigger their goal is to end the life of another. Whether or not they succeed is irrelevant to the person holding the gun. They meant to kill."

Akande slid the gun back towards Lena. "When we fought on the streets of Numbani, you fired this weapon at me. When you tried to stop Lacroix from killing Mondatta, you fired at her. When Reyes and Lacroix tried to retrieve the Doomfist gauntlet you shot at both of them there. You may not have succeeded, Miss Oxton, but you pulled the trigger. You meant to kill all three of us even if you didn't succeed."

He sat back down in his chair and picked up his glass of wine. "So, my question to you remains. Will you join Talon?"

When the information about Blackwatch's illegal activities had come out Lena had been as shocked as anyone. The entire organization had known that Reyes ignored laws and borders whenever it was convenient but the sheer enormity had blindsided everyone and Overwatch was disbanded as a result. And now she was being asked to join the heir to Blackwatch. Being asked to work with the people who had brought low the organization she had been so proud to be a member of.

What a glorious opportunity. For her, at least.

Lena picked up a piece of cheese and used the excuse of eating it to buy herself some time as she thought up a response. "Why do you want me to join Talon? By your logic I've tried to kill you, Reaper and Widowmaker. Why would you think you could trust me to join your organization? I joined Overwatch to stop a war, not start one."

Akande took a small sip before setting his glass down. "We've had our eyes on you for a long time Miss Oxton. Why do you think I was in Numbani that day we fought? I wanted to see what you were capable of for myself. We would have approached you much sooner had I not been imprisoned but I underestimated Winston's rage like so many of my associates have done."

"And my other question? Our goals aren't exactly the same. I'm not interested in getting people to kill each other, after all."

A look of surprise appeared on Akande's face then he chuckled dryly. "My apologies, I spent all this time speaking and completely failed to explain what our goal actually is. Competition is what drives humanity to improve itself but for thousands of years humanity has only had itself to strive against. But now there is an enemy for us to focus on."

"The Omnics." Those could be the only people he was referring to. Demonizing other ethnic groups was a common prelude to inciting violence and they were the easiest target out there for Talon's twisted goal of starting a war.

"So long as the Omnics exist as a threat nations will stop fighting other nations. Humanity will have an enemy that drives us to improve and less people will die since only one side is human. I can understand your reservations but we're a flexible group and we're perfectly capable of working around your code of ethics. So, will you accept my offer?"

The smart thing would be to say yes, then run at the first opportunity but she hadn't really learned anything yet. They had already known Akande was a member of Talon. There was a hacker called Sombra but Lena knew nothing about her other than her codename. Talon had a safehouse somewhere near Venice but she had been wearing that hood and didn't have the slightest clue where in the city she actually was. If she wanted to learn more there was only one way to do it.

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

Lena had left the meeting with Akande in the same manner that she had arrived, a black hood over her head and a hand on her bicep. It wasn't until an hour and one boat ride later that the hood came off again.

She took a moment to look around her as she tried to get an idea of where she had been taken. Trees lined the shoreline in both directions and the only source of light was from the night sky above her. Lena turned when she heard a motor start up only to see the hacker steering the boat away from land. _What? She drove me out here only to leave me on the shore? What the bloody hell?_

A cough came from somewhere behind her and Lena spun around to see someone standing at the tree line, but it was too hard to make out who it was at this distance. The person turned and started walking away from Lena and the ocean behind her. Lena looked over her shoulder but by now the boat had vanished. She took a deep breath and followed, resigned to being a part of whatever game Talon was playing now.

Past the trees was a car waiting on the side of the road. Lena looked to either side of her but there was nothing else around other than the car, except farmlands on the other side of the road and the trees behind her. She shook her head and strode forward, pulling one door open to get in.

The other front seat was already occupied and Lena froze partway through the act of sitting down. Of all the possible people who could be sitting there it had to be this one. If she had been allowed to choose who the person in the car was, then this particular person would be at the very bottom of her list with a line drawn through her name.

On the surface she almost looked the very image of perfection. Even with the unusual lilac hue to her skin Lena couldn't help but admit that this person remained a beautiful woman. Her time as a ballet dancer had left her with a slender figure that was deceptively strong yet still possessing a willow like grace. But that beauty was only on the surface. Beneath her skin, past those perfect breasts and flowing hair was the one person Lena could say she truly hated without feeling any shame over the fact.

Amelie Lacroix's first victim had been her own husband, murdered while he slept in the bed they shared. That was only where the trail of bodies she had left behind began. Other agents of Overwatch, people she had spent time with, trained with, fought with. They had fallen to her rifle, one after the other. Ana Amari. Tekhartha Mondatta and the countless other people she had murdered.

"You." Lena spat the word out with as much venom as she could muster.

Widowmaker chuckled at the look on Lena's face. "C'est moi, cherie. Do get in, we don't want to be late."

"Late for what?" Lena reluctantly sat down and shut the car door before putting on her seat belt.

"Your test mission." The tip of the French assassin's tongue poked outwards as she licked her lips, clearly savoring the moment. "You asked Ogundimu how we could trust you, and the fact is that we don't. If you want to be a member of Talon then you're going to have to prove yourself. Now be quiet, it's a long trip and I need to sleep."

Widowmaker punched their destination into the car's center console before reclining her chair and closing her eyes. As the car started moving Lena leaned forward to look at the console. The entire interface was in French but there was one word that stood out. Naples. She furrowed her brow for a moment then shrugged it off. Widowmaker would tell her why they were going there at some point unless...

Lena slowly turned her head towards the other woman as a thought occurred to her. She still had her guns. It would be so easy. Who would fault her for it? Taking out one of Talon's most notorious members would be doing the world a favor. And it would feel so damn good. Mondatta, Amari and so many others...

She painstakingly flexed one wrist, a few millimeters at a time, until the gun silently slipped from its holster and into her waiting hand. Lena turned the barrel until it was pointed at the assassin's chest. Her heart began to beat faster and she could feel her forehead beginning to throb. All she had to do was caress that trigger and it would be over. No more Widowmaker Widowmaker, no more Widowmaker, no more people dying as she fired bullets from a perch far away from her victims.

"My...my... my." Lena tense nerves snapped at the sound of Widowmaker's voice and she very nearly launched herself into the ceiling of the car as she jumped. Her gun fell from her fingers onto the floor of the car and she put one hand on her chest, suddenly unable to breath normally.

"Not even five minutes in a car with me and death is already on your mind." Widowmaker's eyes drifted open and she turned her head to look at Lena with that sneering smirk of hers. "Ogundimu was right. You _are_ a killer. How does it feel to point a gun at me? You enjoy it don't you cherie? The thought of me dead. It excites you doesn't it? Having my life in your hands, knowing all it takes is a twitch of a single finger. Vengeance would taste so sweet on your lips, no?"

"Shut up!" Lena pressed her palms against her ears and started shaking her head as she tried to ignore what Widowmaker was saying. _She doesn't know what she's talking about. Killing her isn't vengeance, it's justice._

"There's nothing like the rush a kill brings. You've denied yourself that joy so far, Oxton, but someday you'll discover it. Today is not that day however." Widowmaker gave Lena a sly smile as she changed the subject despite how much fun it was to torment the British woman. "We have other business to take care of. There's an arena in Australia known for holding underground Omnic fights and there's a bookie in Naples that places bets on on it."

"Wot?" The thick British accent she normally tried to hide came out for a moment as Lena's brow furrowed. "Why would there be a bookie in _Italy_ for an arena in _Australia._ That doesn't make any bloody sense."

Widowmaker shrugged the question off. "Italians must like to bet on Omnic fights. Perhaps it's the Cosa Nostra. Doesn't make any difference to me or to you. Our job is to break in and get the money they have there."

 _Something here doesn't add up. What are we really doing, Widowmaker? If we were going to London or Monte Carlo then your story would make sense. But Naples? No, you're lying to me and I'm going to find out why._

In the distance Lena could see the lights of the city growing brighter as they drew nearer, but then the car slowed and veered off the edge of the road when they were still several kilometers away. "Why are we stopping?" asked Oxton with a sidelong glance at Widowmaker.

"Put these on." Widowmaker tossed a bulletproof vest along with a thick black sweater and hooded mask at Lena. "If there's people inside then it won't do for them to recognize the... 'Calvary.'" Widowmaker's lip curled up at the nickname Torbjorn had unwittingly given her. "Your guns are a giveaway too so you'll need this."

Lena reluctantly took the submachine gun that the sniper had fetched from the back of the car. It had been a long time since she had held a weapon other than her pulse pistols and this gun felt... alien. The balance was different, the plastic grip felt foreign and it somehow felt much heavier even though it only weighed a hundred grams or so more than her weapon of choice. She fastened the vest into place before pulling the sweater on top of it, the blue glow of her chronal accelerator vanishing beneath its cotton fibers. "What about you? I don't see you changing your outfit."

"No reason to. You're the one going in. I'm the lookout."

 _I'm going in alone to rob a bookie possibly run by the Mafia while she's off taking a nap. What have you gotten yourself into, Lena?_ She shook her head and set the gun down on her lap next to the hood. "Fine." bit off Lena. "Let's get this over with."

Widowmaker didn't respond as she fetched that visor of hers with the red lenses along with her sniper rifle before punching in a new destination. The car pulled back onto the road and made its way towards Naples once again. Half an hour later and the two of them were at their destination.

The bookie's wasn't much to look at. A squat one story building made of red bricks that had weathered decades or perhaps centuries of sitting next to the ocean. A small private wooden dock jutted out into the sea and there was a boat, perhaps ten meters in length, with the name 'Tubman' painted on its side floating alongside it. Lena pulled her goggles off before tugging the black hood down over her face and turning it so she could see out its eye-holes. She took a deep breath before grabbing the Uzi and getting out of the car.

Widowmaker was getting out on the other side, her visor sitting atop her head, sniper rifle in one hand. In the other was an empty duffel bag which she casually threw at Lena. "Don't forget this, cherie."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love," growled Lena as she caught the bag while walking towards the front of the bookie. As she drew closer to the front door she could feel her heart beginning to pound harder and harder against the inside of her chest. _Easy does it Lena. Yeah, you're about to rob someone but these are people who bet on Omnic death-matches, not like I'm stealing from civilians. And it's for a good cause, if I make Talon think they can trust me then I can bring them down from the inside..._

Lena dropped the duffel bag on the ground as she pressed her back against the wall left of the door. She reached down with one hand, turning the knob and the door's hinges creaked as it swung inwards. Lena leaned forward to peek around the edge of the door's frame but there wasn't anything or anybody in sight. The barrel of the gun led the way as she grabbed the bag while moving inside, each step light enough to not make any noise.

After a moment the contents of the rooms visible to her sank in. Chairs pushed back from a dining table, a television paused on a single frame, pictures hanging on the wall. The gun in Lena's hand slowly lowered to point at the ground. _'This isn't a bookie. What game are you playing, Widowmaker?'_

Her head turned from one side to the other as she looked around the silent room before she dropped the duffel bag. There had to be something here that would explain why Talon had an interest in this place. They wouldn't just send her and Widowmaker after a random person's house. After a few seconds she noticed something amiss in the kitchen, a single cabinet not quite fully closed. Lena headed over, faster than before, but still slowly enough not to make much noise.

Inside the cabinet was several bags of various colors and the aroma of unroasted coffee beans drifted from them. On the bottom shelf was a large can of cheap coffee, looking out of place among the premium bags on the shelves above it. Lena grabbed it and pulled the lid off spilling a pair of small booklets and several thick rolls of American dollars held together with rubber bands onto the counter. She grabbed one of the books and flipped through the pages. Numbani... and the portrait of an Omnic along with identifying information. The other booklet was also from Numbani but with a different Omnic than the first. _No omnics in the house so that means they've all gone to… the boat._

Lena pulled the hood off her head and tossed it to the ground as she sprinted outside. She already knew what she would find inside but she had to be sure. By the time she made it out the front door the boat was already pulling away from the dock and making its way out to sea. Lena's head turned as she looked around for the agent of Talon she knew was looking at the same thing. Widowmaker was standing on the rocks that ran parallel to the shoreline and Lena could see a cylinder in her hand.

Her first instinct was to blink forward to where the sniper was but the device on her chest didn't respond. Lena looked down at it before realizing that Sombra's hack from the previous night still remained in effect. Left with only one option her legs started to move, almost of their own accord, as she sprinted forward. The air around her felt like she was pushing through molasses even though she was running as fast as she had done in her life. Widowmaker looked over her shoulder when Lena had covered half the distance between them and her thumb hit the trigger.

Plumes of saltwater rose into the air as the boat disintegrated into a spray of shards of glass and metal flying in every direction.

"No!" The hoarse scream rang through the air as she took aim. Widowmaker had killed Omnics once again despite her attempt to prevent it, and this time Lena didn't even know how many victims there were. No more, she couldn't let this woman escape to do it again and she surely would.

Lena pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Lena came to a halt as she stared at the gun for a moment before pulling the clip out. Empty. She raised her eyes to see the sniper sneering while pointing her left arm at Oxton. The mine attached to it shot free and landed at her feet. The tube carrying the payload cracked open. Lena tried not to breathe in but it was too late and the invisible gas entered her system.

She staggered to the side, her lungs heaving as it tried to repel the foreign intruder to no avail. Invisible needles stabbed into her chest and her eyes watered as the world swayed around her. She fell to her knees as the coughs continued to wrack her and the last thing she saw was a pair of shapely legs in front of her. "Foolish girl."

The world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

A woman carrying a sniper rifle in her hands dashed across the rooftops of London, and a woman wielding two pistols followed. As they leapt from one roof to another bullets and pulses of energy flashed through the night. Then the roofs were gone and they were falling. The woman carrying the sniper rifle took aim and fired.

"Rise and shine."

Icy water splashed onto Lena's face and she snapped back into the waking world, the woman from her dream vanishing only to be replaced by the real thing standing above her, an empty pail in hand. To Lena's surprise Widowmaker was wearing a black skirt with a white blouse along with a necklace that disappeared beneath her shirt. In all their previous encounters she had always been wearing that purple catsuit of hers. Seeing Widowmaker in something other than that felt almost... wrong.

The two of them were in some kind of cellar, surrounded by casks of wine and racks filled with bottles covered in dust. More important than her location was the way Lena had been trussed up. Oxton's wrists were held in place behind her back by metal cuffs, her ankles were locked into metal manacles with a chain running between them, a rag had been stuffed between her teeth and most disturbing was the leash attached to a thin metal ring running around her neck. "What the hell is this!?"

At least that's what she tried to say but all that passed the rag was an angry series of distorted grumbles. Widowmaker dropped the pail to the ground and she disapprovingly shook her head while tsking at Lena. "Now, is that any way for a guest to behave? And here I had always heard the British were famous for their etiquette." She crouched down next to where Lena was lying and pulled the damp rag out. "Good morning."

Lena swallowed as her thoughts began to race and she took stock of the situation. Her guns were nowhere in sight, she was thoroughly tied up and held prisoner in a cellar. Overpowering Widowmaker was out of the question and it was possible there were other Talon agents here. That raised the follow-up question of where exactly 'here' was. It was obvious she had been moved while unconscious but Lena had no idea how long she had been out which made it impossible to predict how far she could have been moved in the meantime. The only thing going her way was that she was still alive. If Talon had wanted her dead they could have done it multiple times already.

"Good morning." It wasn't what she really wanted to say. Lena wanted to scream, to curse and threaten her captor, but all that would accomplishing nothing more than the rag getting shoved back in place. "Can I get a drink or something to eat? Getting a little peckish over here."

"If you behave yourself then I'll see what we can do. For now it's time for your lesson. On your feet." Widowmaker wrapped the leash around her hand then pulled on it. Lena's head jerked forward and she staggered up to her feet with as much grace as person unable to use their hands could muster. Widowmaker yanked on the leash again as she started to walk at a brisk pace and Lena stumbled after her, the chain between her ankles making it hard to walk normally, let alone keep up. As they moved up a flight of stone stairs, Lena's eyes flicked from one side to the other as she examined her surroundings. Partly it was to avoid looking at the shapely rear end in front of her but mostly it was in hopes of gleaning a clue about where she was at the moment.

Tall and skinny windows ran from the floor all the way up to where the vaulted ceilings began to curve far above their heads. Couches and chairs were hidden beneath blankets covered in layers of dust and there were paintings hanging on the wall in every direction she looked. When Lena looked out one window she saw a wide expanse of blue and in the distance a town sitting on the shoreline. _Well, there's my first clue. This looks like some kind of castle on a lake... now if I can just find a way to contact Winston._

Widowmaker opened a door and grabbed Lena by the shoulder, shoving her inside. "Hey!" Lena began to protest then she saw what was waiting for them. A rectangular wooden table sat in the middle of the room but it was what the table held that made Lena's eyes widen as she came to an abrupt halt.

It was an Omnic or at least it had been at one point. Now it only resembled one. Every piece and component, every gear and joint had been detached from all the others. The entirety of everything that went into an Omnic's metal body was neatly laid out on the table, some covered in grease, others in lubricant. Furthermore every part of it had been placed where it would be if the Omnic had been put together.

Lena turned her head towards Widowmaker. "What the hell is going on here!?"

"This is today's lesson. It's time you learned what an Omnic really is." Widowmaker waved one arm at the legion of components in front of them. "This is what an Omnic looks like before it is put together. Every piece is manufactured separately by the Omnium then assembled before its operating system is installed."

"Why are you showing me this?" demanded Lena. "I already know Omnics are built."

"Do you?" queried Widowmaker with that familiar sneer of hers. "Because if you truly understood that then you would not be here. You think Omnics are living beings. It's why you tried to 'save' Mondatta, it's why you tried to shoot me yesterday. You thought I had just committed murder."

"Excuse me? I _saw_ you blow up the boat. I don't think you 'committed murder'. I saw you do it!" shouted Lena, wishing her hands weren't cuffed right about now.

"You cannot murder an Omnic because Omnics aren't alive, you fool." Widowmaker let go of the leash and she walked up to the table, picking the head up and turning it towards Lena. A plate had been removed from the side of the head, exposing the interior to daylight. If this had been a human's head then that person's brain would be visible but in this case all Lena saw were computer chips soldered onto a green circuit board. " _This_ is what an Omnic really is." Widowmaker swept her arm along the table, knocking all the parts on it to the ground.

"All the rest of it is human vanity. We wanted Omnics to resemble us because Omnics are our creation. But this here is the core of an Omnic." Widowmaker turned towards a computer in the corner of the room that Lena hadn't noticed until now and grabbed a cable resting on the keyboard. She plugged it into the circuit board itself then swiped her finger across the computer's monitor.

Lines of strangely formatted text began to scroll downwards on the screen in a parade that never seemed to end. Lena gave Widowmaker a questioning look and received a self-satisfied smirk in return. "This is what an Omnic truly is. Lines of code. Millions and millions and millions of them. Everything they do, everything they say, everything they are comes from these lines."

Lena stared at the monitor for a moment, then at the head, then at the parts still on the table as well as those on the floor. "Why are you telling me this? I know all of that too."

"Because you still don't understand. Omnics are _machines_ , not living creatures. Everything they are comes from the minds of men. They may act like living creatures but that's because we made them that way. When it comes down to it they are only pretending. They pretend because we want them to."

Lena shook her head as if to shake off a mosquito buzzing in her ear. "What difference does it make? If they act like humans, talk like humans and have emotions like humans, then are they truly so different from us?"

Widowmaker pulled the cable out and dropped the head on the stone floor. It bounced once, then twice before rolling to a stop underneath the table. She moved towards Lena and grabbed the leash, pulling Oxton's head closer and whispered into one ear. "Because it's the greatest lie ever told. If people think Omnics are living creatures then they'll hesitate, but the robots won't. When the machines marched on our cities, they spared no one. Men, women, children, the sick, the old. They slaughtered them all. They've done it before, they're doing it now in Russia and they'll do it again."

"That's not true! Some Omnics want to live in peace with us. Look at Numbani or the Shambali."

Widowmaker's lip curled into a sneer that was becoming all too familiar to Lena. "How naive can you be? Every Omnic ever built has the same core programming and can be turned into a weapon at any time. What do you think will happen to Numbani when that day comes?"

Numbani, the crown jewel of Africa's metropolises. A city dedicated to peace and equality for everyone, human and Omnic alike. The city had their own force of Omnics meant to safeguard the city, but even those could be turned like Widowmaker was suggesting and if that happened...

Lena shook her head, but there was less conviction in her voice than earlier. "I can see what you're saying and it sorta makes sense but I just can't agree with you. I joined Overwatch to help make the world a better place and that's what I intend to do. Now let me-"

Widowmaker put one finger against Lena's lips, shushing her. "Why was Overwatch founded?"

"What?"

"What was the reason behind the creation of Overwatch? What drove the United Nations to it?"

Her eyes closed for a moment and Lena let out a sigh as she recalled the history lessons she had been taught. Both of them already knew what the answer was but even so she still had to answer the question. "The Omnic Crisis. Russia was able to hold the Omnics off but they were the only nation to manage that. All the others, Germany, India, America... they were all losing, and badly. Overwatch was an act of desperation, one last shot at winning the war and it worked."

"So, the organization you joined, the organization you devoted yourself to was created to fight the Omnics. Without that cause Overwatch lost its way and was disbanded. Do you see it now? Your purpose is to wage war against the machines. It always has been. The sooner you accept that the sooner you'll find your place in this world."

"What, like you?" Lena pulled against the cuffs on her wrists even though she knew it was wasted energy. "I've tried to make this world a better place. You just run around killing everyone who gets in your way, and for what? Trying to make the world a better place by starting wars!? You're lucky I'm in these cuffs or I'd -"

"You'd what? Kill me?" For once Widowmaker didn't sneer at Lena. Instead she laughed, once. "How many times have you tried that? Numbani, London, Naples... but the most interesting time was in Venice. I was unarmed, my eyes were closed and you had a gun on me at point blank range but you didn't pull the trigger. You've had plenty of chances so if you really wanted me dead then I would be. It does raise an interesting question: if you don't want me dead, then what do you want? I think I have an idea now."

Widowmaker raised her hand, the end of the leash dangling loosely between her fingers. "You're collared and leashed, you have cuffs on your wrists, manacles on your ankles, and you've done nothing about it."

"Done nothing... What the hell do you think I was supposed to do exactly?" Lena spouted indignantly. "You tied me up while I was unconscious!"

Those lilac fingers wrapped the leash around their knuckles, pulling Lena closer in until her face was mere centimeters from Widowmaker's. "You could have killed me yesterday but you didn't. You could have run away in Naples but you didn't. You could have asked me to let you out of these cuffs... but you didn't." Widowmaker's free hand gripped the back of Lena's head, pinching tufts of brown hair between her fingers, and she tugged backwards, exposing more of that slender white neck.

Lena's eyes widened and her whole body went rigid as she felt a tongue gliding along her smooth skin from the collar around her neck up to her ear. Not even a day before Lena had been following up a lead on Talon, a lead that had led her into a morgue. Now here she was, in parts unknown, trussed up with a gorgeous assassin licking her neck. She pulled her head away and turned to glare at Widowmaker. "Uncuff. Me."

Widowmaker lifted an eyebrow but merely shrugged. "As you wish." Her hands let go of what they were holding and reached up to the buttons on her blouse. The first one revealed nothing, but then the white fabric spread even wider to give a glimpse of the bare bosom beneath as Widowmaker pulled the necklace's cord, and the key on it, out. A few steps later and the Talon agent was behind Lena as she unlocked the cuffs.

As soon as Lena's hands were free she twisted at the waist, grabbing Widowmaker by the shoulders and shoved her into the table, bending Widowmaker forward over it. Widowmaker's jaunts across the planet had left a seemingly endless trail of bodies and destruction in her wake. Gerard. Captain Amari. Mondatta and so many others whose names she would never know. And now she had the temerity to think that Lena would agree to being tied up and... and...

"I. Hate. You." growled Oxton as one forearm ground into Widowmaker's shoulder blades. "This world would be a better place without you in it. And you're wrong about me. I _will_ kill you, but not today. What I don't get is why you thought _this-_ " Lena pointed at the collar around her neck as well as where she had been licked, "was a good idea. You I know hate you and you still tried to seduce me."

Widowmaker might have been pinned against the table but there was no sign of it in her voice as she looked back at Lena."Everytime I go into the field, death is waiting. Whether it waits for me or those in my way, I never know until it's over. It could come for me at any time so why wouldn't I find pleasure where I can?"

"And what? You thought tying me up would make me melt and beg you to take me? How delusional can you be?" demanded Lena.

Widowmaker gave a tiny smile that was far too smug for Lena's taste. "My apologies, it seems I misjudged you cherie. It's a mistake I won't make again. But enough of this, we have other matters to attend to. Less enjoyable, but more important."

"Like what?"

"Your next lesson."


	5. Chapter 5

"Put this on."

Lena sighed at the all too familiar sight of what was in Lacroix's hand, but she pulled the hood over her head nonetheless and one of Lacroix's hands took her by the bicep. S _o much for being able to get more clues about where I am now._

After a minute they came to a halt and the sound of hinges squealing filled the air. A wave of chilled air forced its way inside, making Lena shiver as it washed over her, and she could hear the sound of water breaking against rocks. Lacroix's hand urged her forward, but noticeably slower than they had moved while in the house. The stone beneath her feet were slick with condensation and every step down these stairs made her glad of the hand keeping her from slipping and falling. It wasn't good as being able to see where she was putting her feet on her own, but it was _something_.

Once they had descended down the stairs, Lacroix's hands pressed against Lena's ribs on either side. "There's a boat here half a meter to your right, Oxton. Raise your right foot and... there." The boat swayed alarmingly beneath her as Lena blindly reached around, looking for a seat. Then the boat lurched even further as Lacroix got onboard and she fell backwards against the seat she had been searching for. Lena gingerly rubbed at her back for a bit before pushing herself onto the seat itself. _Well that's going to leave a bruise. Better than breaking the accelerator though._ She mused to herself.

A scraping sound came from her left and she felt the boat moving away from the house. "When I can take this thing off?" asked Lena.

"When we get there." replied Lacroix as she dipped the boat's oars into the water and began to row.

Half an hour later was when they arrived at 'there' and the hood came off. The car they had taken from Venice to Naples was sitting parked outside a metal storage shed with no windows and an electronic keypad next to a door. Everything around it was trees and a dirt road leading, presumably, to a real street. Lena's eyes tracked one way then another as she looked around for something, anything that might hint at her location but there was nothing. No signs, no writing or anything else. The car had plates but they were Italian.

Lacroix had a suitcase in hand as she strode up to the shed and blocked Lena's view of the keypad as she punched in a combination. The door slid open and Lacroix tilted her head towards the entrance. "Let's go."

Inside the structure were the kinds of things you might expect to find in a shed. Tools, cabinets, metal cans, spiders and an aircraft. Lena came to a halt and rubbed her eyes before taking a second look. Its black fuselage was all diagonal lines and hard edges to go along with a pair of stubby wings and tinted cockpit. She had seen this particular model once before on the rooftops of London when one had shown up in London to pick up Lacroix after she had shot Mondatta. Now Lena was about to get on its twin or possibly even the same one with said sniper...

"Where are we going?" asked Lena as Lacroix pulled on a switch mounted on the bottom of the aircraft. Hissing came from the machine and then two hydraulic arms were lowering a ramp towards the ground.

"You'll see when we get there. Our destination is already programmed into the computer but seeing that you're a pilot I'm sure you'll want to check the plane over, Oxton." Lacroix headed up into the ramp, disappearing into the aircraft.

Now _there_ was something that she could glean some information from. Trying to be a spy thus far hadn't worked out in her favor but planes... Those she knew. As Lena walked forward, she cast her gaze over the craft's underside. Three repulsors were attached to the bottom of the craft while a pair of menacing gatling guns flanked the ramp now resting on the ground. Nothing surprising so far. Some planes still used jet turbines, but those were mainly at air shows. What she was really hoping to find were names. If one of the parts carried the name of the company who had manufactured it then she had a trail that could lead to the parties responsible for supplying Talon with aircraft.

Lena ducked beneath one of the gatling guns as she ran her fingers along a flat metal plate below the barrels. At one point there had been letters embossed on it, but someone had taken a sander to it and the name had been removed, leaving only a faint discoloration behind. _J_ _ust great. My first real chance at finding something out and they've already beaten me to it. Question is if they do this to all of their aircraft or just this one since they knew I'd look..._

Either way there wasn't any point to searching the outside of the plane. Lacroix had said the destination was already set so at least Lena could see where they were going. Lena stifled a yawn behind her hand as she set foot on the ramp and headed inside before coming to an abrupt halt.

Lacroix had been wearing a white blouse and black skirt when she had boarded the aircraft but not anymore. Both articles of clothing had found their way to the floor and every bit of her was on display. Lena could feel her cheeks beginning to heat up and grow red as she stared, unable to look anywhere else but at Lacroix. In a way it felt like the universe was playing a perverse joke on her. How could a woman as heinous and cruel on the inside as Amelie Lacroix look so perfect on the outside?

There weren't any lines on her cheeks or blemishes that Lena could see. No whiteheads or freckles, just flawless skin from head to chest to... _Oh! She shaves her..._

One of Lena's hands finally broke through the stupor and it threw itself over her eyes. "Gah! Put some clothes on!"

Lacroix strode up to Lena and leaned forward with a chuckle. "Are you sure you want me to do that? You were blushing like a schoolgirl while you stared. Maybe I should wait until you've gotten your fill before getting dressed."

"No... that's not... that's not necessary. Where's the cockpit?" stammered Lena as she started to walk forward but only succeeded in bumping into Lacroix.

Lacroix smirked even though Lena couldn't see as she walked to stand directly behind the other woman, leaving just enough space so that their bodies weren't touching. She put her hands on Lena's shoulders, her thumbs just barely grazing the neck. "Just walk forward, cherie." Once again Lena couldn't see and Lacroix was guiding her around, but at least she was doing it voluntarily this time. Lacroix removed her hands and headed back to where her catsuit was waiting.

Lena plopped herself down in the pilot's chair and leaned forward as she examined the dashboard past the yoke. Radar, dials for elevation, speed, fuel gauge were directly in front of her along with what had to be the console for the auto pilot. To the left were the controls and gauges for the repulsors and to her right were the controls for the flaps. On the panel above her were the miscellaneous switches and dials for everything else. _Air conditioning, cabin pressure, oxygen controls, anti-ice. Good to know Talon's airplanes follow the unofficial standard layout. Never flown one of these before but I already know where everything is likely to be so that's good. Now then where are we going?_

She leaned forward towards the console for a closer look. Instead of a map or city name there was just a set of coordinates. It had been a while since Lena had used latitude and longitude but it only took her a few moments to realize where their destination was. "Oh bloody-"

"-hell that's cold!"

The ramp to the outside had barely begun to open but even that thin crack was enough for the bitterly freezing air outside to invade the heated interior of the aircraft. Lacroix popped open a crate sitting behind the pilot's chair and waved Lena over. "Put these on. It's negative twenty out there and those pants won't protect you." As Lena pulled a pair of insulated pants on she gave Lacroix a questioning look and the French woman shook her head. "I don't need additional clothing, my suit keeps me warm enough."

Outside the airplane was a forest of larch trees, tall and thin with spindly limbs covered in green needles and a blanket of snow. Lena looked one way then the other as she stepped outside, the snow crunching beneath her feet. The gear Lacroix had provided had been rather thin and light but now that she was out here it provided surprisingly effective. Lena wrapped her gloved fingers around the grips of her pistols to test the fit before putting the guns into pockets on the front of her hooded jacket. She glanced back at Lacroix as the other woman exited the craft with her rifle in hand. "So what are we doing in Siberia?" asked Lena.

"There's something I want to show you. It's a kilometer this way." Lacroix turned and started walking into the trees without looking back. Lena gave the ship and it's air conditioning a lingering look before reluctantly following.

After a minute Lacroix came to a halt and wordlessly pointed at a nearby tree. Lena frowned and took a few steps closer to see what was so important about this tree out of the dozens they had already passed by. It looked healthy enough to her untrained eye but there was several patches of bark that had yet to completely grow back, almost all of it on the opposite side from where they had come. She raised an eyebrow but Lacroix was already moving again.

As they continued more trees with increasing amounts of damage to their outermost layer began popping up. Some of them were still alive but most of the trees in this area were dead, many missing branches and some having outright chunks missing. Lena scowled at Lacroix. "Okay... you brought me all the way to Siberia to see some dead trees?"

"Look closer."

Lena shook her head and let out a sigh as she marched up to one of the dead trees. As soon as she got close her footsteps came to a halt as she saw the explanation for what had damaged this forest.

Bullet holes.

On both sides.

"W-what... what happened here?" croaked Lena, though she already had a very good idea of what it was, though she fervently hoped she was wrong.

"Just over this hill."

Hill was being generous, it was more of a small mound really, and one that didn't look natural even to a city-dweller like Lena. As she crested the hill she saw a village on the other side. At least it had been a village in the past. Lacroix walked forward once again, and Lena reluctantly followed, despite every fiber of her screaming to run the opposite direction. Run and get away from this graveyard.

The buildings, if you could still call them that at this point, were husks whose rot was slowed by the icy grasp of this land's winter. Windows were shattered, doors had been forcibly removed from their hinges, bullet holes decorated every wall. And that was the buildings still intact. Many of them were simply charred piles where homes had once stood. In the center of the village was the largest of those piles by far, a mound that rose well above Lena's head. Partway up the pile was a blackened bronze cross covered in soot even after however long it had been resting here.

"The motto of the sniper is one shot, one kill." said Lacroix as they looked at the church's remains. "But nothing is as efficient as killing as a machine. Why waste bullets when you can set a building on fire to kill everyone inside." She turned towards Lena and waved her hand at the remnants all around them. " _This_ is what the Omnics do. They have no emotions. No empathy, no compassion, no mercy. Only logic. This is one village and what happened here happened elsewhere in a thousand places."

" _This_ is the reality of the Omnic Crisis. The machines started this war. They didn't make any demands, they didn't accept anyone's surrender, they didn't take any prisoners. They marched out of the Omniums and killed everyone in their way."

"It doesn't matter if you hate me, it doesn't matter if you hate Talon. Whether or not you agree with Akande's philosophies is irrelevant. The fact remains that the Omnics are the greatest threat humanity has ever faced and who can stop them but Talon?"

"Overwatch." replied Lena though both of them knew that was a lie.

"Overwatch is gone. The governments of the world turned on you. Even if Winston gathers you and the others to his side what can you do? You have no money, no equipment, no ships, no men. You could try going it alone but you'll fail. But if you work with Talon then you have a chance to stop things like this-" Lacroix pointed at the cross, "-from happening again."

"And how would that help? Talon's even more hated than Overwatch. If I joined Talon then I'd be a criminal just like the rest of you."

Lacroix just shook her head and chuckled. "You still haven't figured out why we're asking you to join us. Overwatch is gone and Talon can never take its place. But you could. Who better to be humanity's new champion than 'The Calvary'? No one ever need know you're working with us."

Lena looked at Lacroix for a moment then back down at the burned cross, her mind full of questions that hadn't been there yesterday.


	6. Chapter 6

"You seem troubled." commented Lacroix.

The two of them had returned to the forest, the ruined buildings and unmarked graves out of sight. Almost. One piece of the ghost town was traveling with them, a charred lump of brick from the church where those people had taken shelter. Lena's footsteps came to a halt as Lacroix broke the silence they had been walking in. "Of course I'm troubled!" She snapped.

"I learned all about the Omnic Crisis in school but reading about it in a book is one thing. Actually seeing... that... is another." Lena's footsteps came to a halt and looked back through the trees towards where the town was. "People lived there. They had hopes and dreams like anyone else but those were taken from them. They didn't do anything wrong." Lena's voice dropped to a whisper as her fingers tightened on the chunk of brick in her hand. "They were just in the way."

Lacroix had come to a stop like Lena but the assassin was turning on the spot and silently looking all around them. Lena raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "What? You don't have anything to say? No quips or lessons you want me to learn now?"

Lacroix shook her head as she continued to keep an eye on their surroundings. "No. I've shown you the things you needed to see. What you do now is up to you. Join Talon, go back to London, or something else. The decision is yours and yours alone."

"Why are you so jumpy?" asked Lena. "It's just us and the trees out here."

"Don't be a fool." retorted Lacroix. "You should know that the Siberian Omnium is active. The longer we stay here, the more likely it is that we'll be spotted."

In all likelihood it had been years or possibly decades since anyone had walked through this stretch forest, human or machine. Even so the stillness of the forest suddenly seemed ominous to Lena. The silence that had she had failed to notice was now overbearing and every tree, thick or thin, a potential hiding place. A shiver ran down her spine despite the insulation her outermost layer of clothing provided. "Fine, let's hurry up then."

Several minutes later and the aircraft appeared between the trees exactly where they had left it. Unfortunately the ramp had been left down, giving the freezing air plenty of time to seep into every nook and cranny the plane had to offer. Lena dropped herself into the pilot's chairs and started flicking switches and adjusting a dial. The hydraulic arms began to retract upwards, pulling the ramp along with them. "So now what?" asked Lacroix as she set her rifle down by the suitcase that she had brought with her.

"I'm not sure." admitted Lena as hot air started blowing from the vents throughout the ship. "You've given me a lot to think about and I need time for that. For now we should get this plane back to its hangar. I'd set the auto pilot but I don't know where that building was."

A day or even just a few hours ago that question would have been a fishing attempt. Getting the coordinates to this hangar would make finding the house on the lake easy and in turn that could have given Lena a lead on Talon. But as it was she just wanted to get away from Siberia, away from that town whose name she didn't even know.

"Get the ship ready to take off and I'll set our destination in the autopilot." said Lacroix as she moved to stand next to Lena's chair.

Lena started flicking more switches and lights began coming on throughout the ship. A moment later and the ship's computer had finished booting up. Then a man's voice interspersed with frequent bursts of hissing static came through the speakers mounted on the upper console. Lena frowned and turned her head to look up at Lacroix. "Do you speak Russian? I can't understand what he's saying and why would someone be on the radio this far out in the middle of nowhere?"

Lacroix frowned and leaned forward as she focused her attention on the sporadic fragments of speech that they were getting. "No I don't. What surprises me is that we're getting something on this radio channel. He must be broadcasting on all frequencies to make sure someone picks his signal up." A single word came through as Lacroix finished speaking. Neither of them understood the Russian language, but this particular term needed no translation.

Omnics.

The two of them exchanged a long look before Lena broke the silence. "Does this plane have a way to tell where that signal is coming from?"

Lacroix raised an eyebrow "You're going to help them?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? I already saw one dead village today and I'm not going to stand by while the Omnics wipe another one out." Lena pulled her gloves off before turning the repulsors on and grabbing hold of the controls. The ship shuddered then flew straight up to hover above the treeline.

"I don't know how to track a radio signal down." stated Lacroix. "But I think the signal should get stronger as we get closer and the Omnics should show up on your radar."

"Well isn't that just bloody great? We're flying blind." growled Lena as she pushed the ship even higher. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." Lena slipped her arms through the harness on her chair and buckled it down. "You should sit down and strap in."

Once Lacroix had buckled herself into the other chair in the cockpit area, Lena pulled back on the joystick and the aircraft shuddered as it climbed up higher into the air. _Higher we get, the further this plane's signals should reach without trees or hills blocking them. Just gotta fly in circles until I figure out which direction to go._

The ship banked sharply in one direction as Lena tilted the joystick to the left and held it there. In the meantime her ears listened to the man pleading for help while looking at the radar for blips. "I don't get it. Where's the RDF? They should have troops out here protecting their people."

"The Russians are having problems dealing with the Omnics this time. They're still fighting the last war and they haven't adjusted to the new tactics the Omnics are using. They aren't massing up into a horde like before. Instead they've broken up into smaller groups and launching raids all across the front. Defending the major cities isn't complicated, you wait for them to come to you, but guarding thousands of kilometers of frozen tundra? Not so easy."

If she hadn't been flying the plane then Lena would have turned to glare at Lacroix. As it was she had to keep her eyes on the consoles but her fingers tightened on the joystick. "And how exactly do you know that? … Talon's been watching Siberia and doing nothing!"

She couldn't see her face but Lena could still practically hear Lacroix's sneer. "Talon _is_ doing something. We're trying to assemble a group of people who can fight the Omnics."

 _'eople like me...'_ Lena let out a small sigh as the plane finished the first loop and she eased up on the yoke so that the next would be larger in order to cover more ground. After three more increasingly broadening loops multiple blips appeared on the radar's edge. Lena bit her lip as she stared at them. Those could be but going after the wrong thing would cost her time, and more importantly, lives. "Talon's been watching this area. Do you know if there's any towns or cities near our present location?" asked Lena.

Lacroix's voice came back at once. "No. This whole region was wiped out in the last war. It's why I chose this location. I didn't think there would be any Omnic activity nearby, but it seems we missed something."

"Guess we're rolling the dice then," muttered Lena as she turned the joystick and the ship banked around before pointing its nose to the east. _Time to see how fast this thing can go._ Lena pushed the throttle lever as far forward as it would go and the ship shuddered for a moment as its repulsors responded. The needle on one of the dials increased until it stopped on the number twelve hundred. _Almost enough to break the sound barrier but doing that would tell people something is flying around nearby. Also not fast enough to outrun a fighter. Definitely built for stealth._

As the ship soared through the sky Lena split her attention between quick glances down at the radar and looking out the window. On their own the increasing number of tiny green dots would have been a sign she was going in the right direction, but a more telling sign was the aircraft hovering in the air. The Omnic Crisis had happened before she was born, but Lena still recognized the profile of the rectangular craft. She looked around at her control panels. "Where are the controls for the guns?"

"The machine guns are operated by the co-pilot." said Lacroix as she turned on a screen in front of her and grabbed a pair of joysticks. "What's your plan?"

"That thing has jamming pods on it. We take that out and the RDF will hear the distress call." Even as Lena spoke the Omnic craft began to turn and head straight away from them. Lena slammed her fist against the arm of her chair as it quickly outdistanced them.

"Are you going to chase it?" asked Lacroix.

"No. Omnic ships don't have to worry about g-forces like human pilots do. We'd never catch it in this thing." Lena started entering commands into the auto pilot with one hand while unbuckling her harness with the other. "All we have to do is keep it away from the village. I'm programming the plane to patrol the area. If the jammer tries to come back then shoot it down."

The aircraft began to descend towards the ground and the rear hatch popped open. "Where are you going?" Lacroix asked as Lena got out of her chair and headed towards the ramp.

"To help those people!"

The aircraft was still a meter in the air when Lena's feet hit the ground and she was sprinting towards the village. Seconds after she had begun to move the cracks and booms of gunshots filled the air. Some came one at a time, but others were strung together, the unmistakable sign of automatic weapons unloading dozens or even hundreds of rounds in a second. Lena cut to her left to skirt around a dense group of thickets and then she came across a contributor to the salvos she had been hearing.

It easily stood over two meters tall and likely weighed three to four times as much as Lena did. The majority of Omnics had been built to resemble humans in both appearance and mannerisms, but not this one. This one looked like a tank that had decided it wanted to walk and grown legs in order to accomplish the task. A red light glowed in the middle of a rectangular head, plates of armor covered its heavy limbs, and its right hand had been replaced with a bulky rifle. The automaton's head turned to look at her and that gun it wielded made its way towards Lena as the machine's entirely upper body swiveled towards her.

This wasn't the first time Lena had encountered a Bastion unit. Null Sector had managed to assemble several of them for use during their uprising in King's Row. Bastions could lay down a tremendous amount of fire but they were slow and could be outmaneuvered. Especially by Lena. She took one step forward as she triggered her accelerator to blink behind the machine so she could fire on it from behind.

Nothing happened.

Lena's days as a test pilot had led her to flying the Slipstream, an experimental airplane meant to have the ability to teleport. The test fight had been a disaster resulting in her becoming unfixed in time. Yet for all of her drifting, blinking, and recalling, time had always flowed at the same pace for her. Until now.

The barrel of the submachine gun's progress came to a crawl while the realization of her mistake dawned on her in an instant. Sombra had hacked her accelerator that night in Venice and they had never undone it. She couldn't blink, she couldn't recall to safety, she couldn't do anything but stay frozen in this spot while that gun moved towards her with the promise of death.

As Lena stared at the robot she couldn't help but remember the briefings she had been given on this particular model. Bastion units had the ability to transform between three different forms, each with their own gun. At the moment it was in its Recon mode and was wielding the weakest of its guns, but the bullets were still more than enough to rend her flesh and bones, to tear through her organs. She was about to die.

A crack came from the forest behind her and the barrel of the gun that the Bastion was trying to aim at her was suddenly no longer there. Silence filled the forest as Lena and the machine both turned their heads to look for where the shot had come from. Another shot echoed through the trees and the Bastion's headless form tumbled to the ground.

Lena's savior appeared a moment later and she looked none too pleased. Amelie shook her head in annoyance as she shifted the gun to one hand and held up some kind of device in the other. "Your eagerness to save others is commendable, cherie, but not when rushing in headlong is going to get you killed." Amelie unzipped the front of Lena's jacket and pressed the thin sliver of metal to the accelerator. "There. Sombra's hack is gone. Now I believe you have a village to save."

"Don't you mean we?" asked Lena.

"No. I will aid you from a distance, but my involvement in this matter can never be known. _You_ are this village's savior. When the Russian troops arrive they will find the Calvary waiting for them."

"Are you sure they'll come? If you're not on the ship then the jammer can come back." Lena pointed out.

"Our ship is still flying overhead and that will be enough to keep the jammer at bay long enough for the signal to reach the RDF. Now we must move. The shooting has stopped which means the Bastions have identified a new target and are coming this way."

Amelie turned and sprinted away into the forest as Lena looked towards the village. Amelie _was_ right. The barrages of machine gun fire _had_ stopped. She raised her pistols up and blinked in the opposite direction of where Amelie had gone. Amelie was right on both counts, she _did_ have a village to save as well.


	7. Chapter 7

"Before we begin allow me to express my personal gratitude for your actions today … is it Miss or Mrs Oxton?"

"Miss." said Lena. At the moment she was sitting down on a hard wooden chair in the village's only tavern. Her shirt was soaked through with sweat, smudges of dirt covered her face while parts of her jacket had been torn by branches or possibly bullets. She wasn't sure which.

A pair of Russian men were seated on the other side of a round table. The officer, a Captain Alekhin of the Russian Defense Force, was a tall man with broad shoulders and his subordinate was roughly the same shape and weight as one of those barrels behind the bar.

"Miss Oxton." The captain continued speaking through his translator. "If you hadn't been here then the Omnics would have killed everyone. What you did today saved hundreds of lives and for that I thank you. However, that is my personal opinion and one my superior officers do not entirely share."

Alekhin pulled a recording device out of his pocket and set it down on the table between them. "I've been ordered to ask you a number of questions and report back before evacuating the people here." He sighed once and shook his head before turning it on. "Overwatch is no longer sanctioned by the United Nations and was disbanded years ago. However, there recently have been rumors and stories that Overwatch may be returning. Is your presence in Siberia related to Overwatch in any way?"

Lena shook her head before answering. "No. It's like you said, Overwatch was disbanded and is no longer active. I'm here of my own accord."

"Very well." Relayed the translator. "Then may I ask why you are in Siberia? We're a long ways from London and I can't help but feel your presence here is significant."

"Overwatch may be gone but I still believe in its mission." explained Lena. "When I joined I did so because I wanted to make the world a better place and I've kept trying to do that even after Overwatch was disbanded. As for why I'm in Siberia the answer is simple. Your Omnium is active again for some reason and I came here to find out why. If the Siberian Omnium can be reactivated then so could the others."

The captain leaned back in his chair, a look of surprise on his face that transcended their language barrier. He rubbed at his chin as his words were translated. "You mean to say that even a former agent of Overwatch doesn't know what was responsible for the Omnic Crisis? There has been a great deal of speculation about what started the war, but that question has never been answered."

"The Omniums were shut down before I joined Overwatch." explained Lena. "Whatever happened during those raids was classified and the files erased. I should know, I've tried to find out, but the people who do know weren't talking. I heard plenty of rumors while I was in Overwatch and I even tried talking to Jack Morrison about it. He never gave me a real answer though."

"I see. It is much the same among members of the RDF. Well then the greatest mystery of our time continues." Alekhin turned the recording device off and placed it back into his breast pocket. "I'm supposed to detain you so you can be sent back to England, but you have this strange ability called 'blinking' that was too much for us to handle. Before we go there's someone who wants to see you."

He beckoned with his fingers towards the front door and a pair of figures moved towards them. The taller of the two was a man who looked like he had spent the last five years behind a desk while drinking and eating more than he needed to. The second was wearing enough fur lined clothes that she looked more like a bear cub than a young girl. "This is Marat Vasilek, the village's police officer and his daughter Irina. Mister Vasilek organized the villagers after the attack began. He wanted to speak to you before we leave for the south."

Marat looked down at his daughter and whispered something before letting go of her hand. Irina hurried up to Lena's chair while her father headed towards the bar. The girl looked up at Lena before saying something in Russian. Lena hesitated visibly and looked over at the translator. He started then cleared his throat before translating. "Daddy says you scared the bad robots off."

"I..." Lena's mind flashed back to the events of only a few hours ago. Blinking through the frozen forest while trees were turned into shrapnel around her, Bastions exploding when her shots penetrated their armor and found the shells inside. "...Yes I scared the machines off."

Irina put her hands on Lena's chair and clumsily pushed herself up until she was sitting on Lena's lap. Once there she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a bruised violet flower with rounded diamonds for petals. She held the flower to Lena with a smile. "Daddy said I should give you this for scaring the machines off."

"Aww why thank you Irina, that's very sweet of you." Lena gave the girl a grin while taking the flower and sticking the stem behind her ear. "How does that look?"

The girl shrugged dismissively and climbed down off of Lena. "I have to go find my mom now. Daddy says we're going on a trip." She waved one hand at Lena before walking away.

As his daughter left Marat approached the table with a round tray in his hands. He set it down and Lena leaned forward to get a better look at what he had brought. A short stubby bottle of clear liquid stood on one side next to four shot glasses and a small smattering of pickled cucumbers. Marat pulled a chair away from a nearby table and sat down with the three of them. He glanced at the translator before speaking. "This isn't much but it's the best I could do on short notice." The police officer waved at the cucumbers. "This is Zakuksi. After you down your vodka inhale then eat one before you exhale."

Marat picked up the bottle and twisted the lid off. As he filled the glasses Lena could smell the indelicate scent of rubbing alcohol in the air. He lifted his glass towards Lena and the other two men followed suit. "To the Calvary, for being here when we needed her."

The vodka was flavorless save for the taste of burning as it went down. A second later and she was bent at the waist, hand pressing against her accelerator as she coughed. After a few moments Lena was able to sit upright though her eyes were still watery. She eyed the bottle warily before grabbing one of the cucumbers. "Well I wasn't expecting that. Guess I'm better at dealing with Omnics than your vodka."

Once her words were translated the three Russians started chuckling and after a moment Lena joined them. Alekhin said something and waited for his words to be relayed before the men took another drink. "I'm sure it makes me a poor Russian but I'd gladly trade being able to stomach vodka for the ability to fight the Omnics like you can, Miss Oxton." The captain set his glass back down and took one of the remaining pickles. "I regret not having more time for toasts but the evacuation should be almost complete and we must be on our way back south. The power and water to this village will be turned off at this time tomorrow. However, I'm told the cabin across from this building is where travelers stay on the occasions they visit this place. Good day, Miss Oxton."

With that Alekhin and his translator stood up and left, the policeman not far behind them. Lena sat there for a moment before pushing her chair back and heading for the front door. In middle of the street there was a small gathering of people to get into the back of a truck that had been built for carrying troops. Each person in the group had a single suitcase they tossed up before climbing inside. Russian soldiers carrying rifles were standing around in every direction, almost all of them looking out towards the forest with alert gazes.

A woman standing in the crowd looked towards the bar as Lena followed the Russians outside. She nearly dropped her suitcase and her eyes widened before she started pulling on the sleeve of a man next to her. The man turned his head to see Lena standing there and a wave of furtive glances and hushed whispers spread through the group. Lena gave the group an awkward wave before folding her arms and leaning against the bar's brick wall.

Going into the guesthouse that Alekhin had mentioned was certainly tempting but she couldn't do it. Not yet. She hadn't seen Amelie since that conversation in the forest but she knew the woman was still somewhere nearby. Lena had heard the sniper's rifle at work throughout the battle. Once all these people were gone Amelie would come out. Until that happened Lena needed to stay someplace where she could be seen.

The soldier directing the civilians yelled something and started waving them towards the truck. A couple of minutes later and all of them were onboard. A tank with Captain Alekhin sitting next to the turret drifted up and he looked down at her. "Well, Miss Oxton," he said, his English clearly accented. "I hope you find the answers you seek. Russia can protect itself from the Omnics, but I wonder if the rest of the world can say the same." He bumped his fist against the turret and yelled something in Russian. The soldiers on guard turned and made their ways to the trucks before the convoy got underway.

Soon enough a voice she had been expecting came from the alleyway to Lena's left. "Do you know what the difference between this village and the other one is?"

"Me."

Amelie stepped out of the alley, rifle in hand. "Correct, cherie. If you hadn't been here then all of these people would have died. _You_ were the difference." Amelie reached up to brush her fingertip against the flower that the little girl had given Lena. " Remember their faces and know they owe their lives to you."

Lena remained silent for a moment before pointing at the cabin in front of them. "The captain left the power on for us. I don't know about you, but I haven't had a shower since Venice."

Amelie started walking forward immediately, her hips swaying provocatively as she crossed the street. After a moment she looked back at Lena, an almost girlish grin on her lips before she sprinted forward and into the cabin. Lena pushed herself off the wall and she made her way to the cabin, albeit much slower than Amelie had. By the time Lena had made it inside the other woman was nowhere to be found. Her clothes, on the other hand, were. Amelie's catsuit and boots were sitting the middle of the floor along with one other item. A metal ring with a leash made of leather riveted to the edge of the collar. The last time Lena had seen this had been back in that chateau. Amelie had put it on her while she was unconscious. The sound of water beginning to run came from a doorway left open a few centimeters. An invitation.

Lena pulled her gloves off before unzipping her jacket and tossing it to the floor. She reached up to the side of her accelerator and pushed open a hidden panel. Lena flicked a switch and the device hummed briefly as it changed to a different mode. Normally it only had to project a field large enough to envelop her body but at certain times it had to be taken off while still keeping her within range. Taking showers _had_ been the original reason for devising this mode and she was about to do that. Just, not alone.

Her hands began undoing the various buckles and straps that ran all around her torso and legs before it came loose. Lena discarded everything but the front metal segment, that she kept in one hand while picking up the metal ring in her other and walking forward.

A clear glass door separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom and Amelie was standing on the other side. A shower-head hung straight down from the ceiling and water was pouring out of it. Her hair was already slick and sticking to her shoulders and back. Rivulets of water streamed down over her breasts and flat stomach onto her thighs, eventually finding their way to the floor. Amelie's lips slowly broadened into a smile and she beckoned Lena to come join her with a single finger.

Lena set the accelerator down on the sink's counter along with the collar. Amelie's smile widened at the sight of the metal ring but said nothing. Lena grabbed a hold of her shirt's hem and pulled upwards, peeling the sweat-soaked shirt before she threw it aside. She reached behind her, unclasping her bra before shrugging it off then turned around. Lena's cheeks blushed as she bent over and undid her shoelaces, her impromptu striptease continuing. She stepped out of her shoes and began pushing her yellow leggings down, her round bottom swaying from side to side as she wriggled out of the snug garment. Her panties fell to the ground a second later and she grabbed the collar before stepping into the shower.

Once Lena had shut the door and turned around Amelie leaned in to kiss her. Her heart began pounding at the feel of those soft lips finally pressing against hers. She slid her arms around the violet skinned woman and pulled her into Lena's chest. As the kisses deepened she began murmuring between them. "I almost... died today. That machine would've... killed me if... you weren't there." Lena pulled her head back to take a breath and meet Amelie's gaze directly. "It made me realize what you said was true. Death could come for people like us at any time." She stretched up on her toes and craned her head forward, running her tongue up the side of Amelie's neck, provoking a delighted shiver.

"So why wouldn't we find pleasure where we can?" Lena huskily whispered into Amelie's ear. "You were right in thinking that I'm attracted to you because I absolutely am." She snapped the collar shut around Amelie's neck and grabbed the leash in one hand.

"But you missed two things _cherie._ I hate you. I hate Talon. I hate Akande and everything your organization stands for. But you're also right about another thing. Overwatch is gone and the Omnics are attacking which means I need you and you need me."

Lena slid her free hand down to Amelie's bottom and squeezed, feeling the flesh sink beneath her fingers. "The other thing you missed is who I am. _I'm_ the Hero. _I'm_ the one whose supposed to save the world. This collar does belong on one of us, but it's not me."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, Amelie taken aback by the sudden change of demeanor while Lena mentally urged the other woman to yield. Then Amelie's legs were bending beneath her as she knelt on the floor. "Is this what you want?" she asked, her usual haughtiness suddenly nowhere to be found.

Lena put her palm against Amelie's forehead and pushed until the other woman was lying flat on her back with knees bent. She turned the water off before lowering herself down until her pelvis was only centimeters away from those marvelous lips. "No, _this_ is what I want." Lena pulled on the leash, raising Amelie's face up into her groin.

Amelie's lips parted and her tongue poked out, the tip just barely grazing the folds above her. Lena trembled at the light touch then again as it began to slowly flick up and down. After a minute Amelie curled her arms around Lena's legs, her hands coming to rest on top of Lena's thighs. Then her tongue pushed through the outer folds in search of more sensitive regions.

Lena moaned and she leaned forwards, one hand pressing against the shower wall. This wasn't her first time with a woman. That bridge had been passed long ago and she had even been on both sides of this position previously, but it had never felt this good before. Amelie's tongue was as perfect as the rest of her, brushing against all the right spots without needing to be told where they were. Lena moaned again as a pressure she had never expected Amelie Lacroix to cause beginning to build in her belly. Encouraged by the sound Amelie pulled her tongue away then squirmed upwards as she latched her lips to the top of Lena's labia. Amelie's tongue pressed against Lena's clit before she gently pulled the folds up with her mouth and let go only to do it again a moment later.

Her fingers tightened on the leash and Lena's eyes began to flutter shut as Amelie continued to repeat the cycle. Bit by bit muscles all over her body were beginning to tense up and that pressure was climbing higher and higher. Lena dropped the leash and put her other hand against the wall as she started squeezing her legs inwards against Amelie's face. Amelie's hands gripped Lena's legs even tighter and she pulled on those folds once more, but this time she didn't let go.

As if on cue Lena felt that pressure suddenly breach and ecstasy spread outwards in every direction from her core. Her legs began to quiver uncontrollably and the strength fled from her arms. After a moment she tried to stand up but her legs did their best impression of a noodle and bent beneath her as she ungracefully sank back down to her bottom.

Amelie rolled over and crawled up to Lena, the leash dangling freely. "Mmm that was delicious... still planning to kill me cherie?" She practically purred with a broad grin on her face.

Lena dropped her head back against the plastic wall and took a long, deep, shuddering breath. "We'll settle things someday... but if you keep doing that then I'll keep you around longer."

Amelie chuckled dryly. "If you say so. For now though I have a favor to ask... Mistress."

 _Mistress huh? Well I guess we did just do that..._ "What is it?"

"You can do whatever you want to me. Just please reward me for saving your life."

A window popped up on the computer screen and a woman with violet skin appeared in it. "Lacroix reporting in."

"You're late. How is your assignment progressing?" Akande was seated behind a desk with a large computer monitor on it. Behind him stood a figure in a black cloak and white mask.

"I had to wait until she was asleep before I could get back to the plane. She is back in the village at the moment. Our operation here went off splendidly. The people know she is the one who saved them and my presence went undetected."

Akande moved the window containing Lacroix's image to one side and he refreshed the internet browser in the background. Various sites popped up in the search result, most of them containing the name 'Lena Oxton' though a few also bore her code-name as well. "So I see. The news reports of what happened are beginning to circulate on the Internet. What of Oxton herself? Has her attitude towards you changed at all?"

"She continues to say that she plans to kill me eventually, but Oxton was still willing to be physically intimate. I don't believe she will ever be fully on our side but I can continue to mold her if that's your order."

"Do what you can, but remember that she can never reach the Siberian Omnium. That will be all." Akande tapped a button on his keyboard, terminating the conversation.

"Is this charade really necessary?" growled Reyes. "It would be far simpler to just hand her over to O'Deorain like we did with Lacroix."

Akande steepled his fingers as he stared at the picture of Oxton from some awards ceremony that a news site had posted. "Perhaps in the short run yes, but there's the bigger picture to consider. Oxton choosing to work with us of her own free will is the best solution. If we brainwashed her like you've been suggesting then it would only be a matter of time until Winston found a way to reverse the procedure and uses what she knows to come after us."

"Winston." Reyes spat the name out and shook his head as he began pacing. "You spend far too much time worrying about that monkey."

"And you fail to recognize that he is our most dangerous enemy. He stopped you from retrieving the list of Overwatch agents _and_ the Doomfist gauntlet. He bested me in Numbani and put me in prison. That, 'monkey', as you call him, was the one who designed Oxton's accelerator. He's as intelligent as any person alive and stronger than any man could be." Akande scowled as he squeezed his right hand into a fist. Even with the Doomfist Gauntlet Winston's rage had proven too much to overcome.

Akande closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Amari and Morrison have become renegades. Ziegler is a brilliant doctor but she was never a true warrior. Lacroix is handling Oxton and now it's only a matter of time until Winston tries to find her. When that happens we'll be waiting and once Winston is gone there isn't anyone who could bring Overwatch back."

"Oxton will turn on us if she finds out we killed Winston." Reyes pointed out.

"Perhaps, but if that happens our best assassin will be there to deal with her."

Akande clicked on the search's top result. The thumbnail of Lena expanded and a short article appeared. 'LENA OXTON SAVES VILLAGE IN RUSSIA. OVERWATCH RETURNING?'

He closed the page without bothering to read anything more than the headline. "No. No it isn't."

* * *

So this is the end of A New Heading. If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.


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